Delirious Wishes
by Random-pirate-snatcher
Summary: When Darrell and Amanda created a blanket Fort, they did not expect to be transported to the lair of their favorite fictional character-and, believing him to be misunderstood, they definitely did not expect him to be as bad as the stories always said...
1. Blanket Forts, Truth, Dares and biscuits

Darrell Moriarty was sitting in her room. While that would seem quite a normal thing to do, let it be known that Darrell was also sitting amid a load of blankets and cushions.

She had created a blanket fort.

And now, all she had to do was wait for her best friend, Amanda Watson, to arrive.

She was sitting in silence, staring at the watch she'd placed on the floor.

5...4...3...2...1!

The doorbell didn't ring.

She sighed, and headed downstairs.

Opening the door, she mock-glared at her best friend, who looked a bit surprised.

"Darrell, I haven't even rung the doorbell yet."

"You're late!" Darrell announced. "Now, quick, come in, come in, I'm hungry..." She said in a creepy voice.

"Well, you're not eating my brains." Amanda said, walking in, smiling before turning around and attempting to carry in-TWO huge ginormous suitcases.

Darrell stared.

"What?" Amanda asked, seeming confused.

"Amanda...you're only staying for-"

"Two weeks! Maybe longer. So, yes, I do need all this stuff. I mean, what would I do if I didn't have enough books to read?"

"Am, you know very well I have just as many books as you."

Amanda just smiled, and struggled to pull her suitcases through the hallway. Darrell took one of them, and, in silence, the two of them went upstairs.

"Wait." Darrell said. "I'll take the suitcases in, you wait here." She said, smiling at her surprise, and taking the suitcases one at a time.

Then she came back out, grabbed Amanda's hand and said, in a spooky, hushed, voice.

"Close your eyes...close your eyes, my dear...enter the world of what you've always imagined...Enter..."

And Darrell pulled Amanda into her bedroom, to behold the wondrous, amazing-blanket fort.

Amanda looked amazed.

"You've...made a blanket fort?" She asked. Darrell nodded, grinning widely.

Amanda joined in the grinning. Darrell's entire bedroom had been transformed into a blanket fort. It was amazing!

"So, we'll be sleeping like this for two weeks, then?" Amanda asked.

"Yup! It's really comfy. And, tonight-we're having a HUGE midnight feast. And breakfast in bed. And quite possibly lunch as well, and then another midnight feast tomorrow night."

Amanda laughed. This was going to be quite an adventure.

Almost 8 hours later, both girls were laughing at a joke of Darrell's.

Amanda looked at the clock. "Twenty minutes to go. Rel, can't we just start eating twenty minutes early? That chocolate looks so...tempting..." She said, looking at it wistfully. "I mean, Rel, if we're not allowed to eat it until midnight, its a bit unfair to have it out where I can see it."

"Hey, I'm getting tempted too!" Darrell laughed. "I should have hidden it, but oh well. I guess...well, I don't know, but hey! Only twenty minutes, Mand, so, it's not that long. We can survive. If we stick together..."

Amanda groaned. Great, Darrell was going into her 'We can survive this treacherous adventure' mode.

"We WILL succeed. If And if we can do this, we can do anything. We can survive even the worst thunderstorms and we can WIN! WHO'S WITH ME?" She yelled.

Silence.

Then:

"Amanda, you're meant to cheer, and yell, 'I'm with you' or whatever. Come on!"

"Yay, whatever, I'm with you, blah, blah..."

Darrell glared at her. Amanda stuck out her tongue, grinning.

"Oh, look at that, the speech took twenty minutes. Time to eat!" Amanda said quickly, reaching for a chocolate bar, but Darrell knocked her hand down.

"Not so fast! I can see the watch too, you know, and we still have 17 minutes till midnight."  
Amanda looked at the watch doubtfully. "Are you sure it's working? The hands don't seem to be moving..."

"Come on, Mand! It's not that much of a wait. Anyway, I'm sure we can think of something to do for 17 minutes."

Both of them were silent for a moment, trying to think of something.

"No, I don't think I can think of anything. We'll just have to start eating early, such a shame, but what can you do, right?" Amanda tried to convince her friend half-heartedly, knowing she'd say no. And knowing that, knowing Darrell, she'll have thought of something to do.

"Let's play...Truth or Dare." Seeing Amanda's face, she continued, "Come on! At least it's something to do, and, hey, it'll be fun! We'll learn facts about each other, do fun dares-"

"I'll get incredibly embarrassed by a dare." Amanda muttered. She could still remember what had happened last time she played truth and dare.

It had been horrible, and she hoped Darrell had forgotten-somehow, she doubted she had, and she also doubted Bree had, or any of the others involved. But it was, in a way, a comforting thought, or hope, or whatever.

"I'll ask you first. Truth or Dare, Amanda?" Amanda opened her mouth to protest, but Darrell stopped her. "Now, now, less enthusiastic always goes first."

"That's not true, and you know it."

"Fine. Youngest goes first. That's still you."

Amanda sighed. "Fine." She paused, thinking. No, her last dare had been way too embarrassing. She wouldn't do a dare.

"Truth."

Darrell mock-pouted. "Not fair, Am."

"Well, still, my choice. So there."

Darrell sighed. "Fine, fine. Hmmm..."

Amanda glanced at the watch, hoping that it would be time already. No such luck.

"GOT IT! What's your most embarrassing moment?"

Amanda went red. "Do I have to?"

"Yes!" Darrell said quickly, nodding hard. "You can't upset the wonders of truth or Dare."

"Last time we played this, and you dared me."

Darrell laughed; and Amanda glared at her. "It wasn't funny-it was horribly embarrassing." She said, going red.

"Oh, no one remembered it!"

"You did. I did."

"No one else! Probably. Except Peter."

"It was horrible!" Amanda said, glaring again at Darrell.

"Well, I'm sorry, it _was_ a good dare. And the look on Peter's face when you went over to him and started saying cheesy pick-up lines. And Bree couldn't keep a straight face; when you said that one about 'u' and 'I' being together in the Alphabet she was hysterical."

"Yes, I know. Can we stop talking about it?" Amanda pleaded. "Please?"

"Fine, fine. Come on, then, ask me." Darrell smiled.

"Truth or Dare?" Amanda asked, bored, and she wasn't surprised when Darrell replied,

"Dare."

Darn it, now Amanda would have to think of something really good. Something that would embarrass Darrell as much as Darrell had embarrassed her.

"Um..." She said, stalling.

She couldn't think of anything good at all. "Darrell-"

"Nuh-uh. I can't give you any ideas. It wouldn't be fair."

"But, Darrell..."

"No."

Amanda gave her the puppy dog eyes look.

Darrell didn't cave.

"Ok, I've got one." Amanda said, finally-she'd thought it had been at least 7 minutes by now, but no, there were still 13 minutes left.

"You have a video camera, right?"

Darrell looked at her warily. "Right..."

"Give it to me, and then when I say go, you have to pick up that amazing muffin there with the huge load of cream on the top, shove it on your face, rub it round, jump up and down singing and playing air guitar WHILE wearing this on your head." Amanda said, handing Darrell a purple bag.

Darrell grudgingly got the video camera. "What are you going to do with the footage?" She asked, worried.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm just going to show it to all our friends, put it on Youtube, then watch it a million times so the viewing figures go up and more people will watch it."

Darrell looked worried now.

"Going to back out?" Amanda asked sweetly.

Darrell shook her head. "I'm not a coward, Am. I said Dare-I'll do the dare."

Mandy smiled. "Ok. We'll have to leave the blanket fort, and film in the remander of the room." Darrell climbed out of the blanket fort, Mandy following.

Amanda readied the camera.

"Ready, Steady-Go."

Darrell glared at the camera, then placed the purple bag-stylishly? If that was possible-on top of her head, before taking the creamy muffin, and shoving it in her face-or to be specific, shoving part of the muffin in her mouth, and taking a bite. Then, the cream having been eaten by her now, she rubbed it around her face, then rubbed off the crumbs with her sleeve.

"Which song?" She asked.

"Ummm...Under Pressure by Queen. From the musical." Mandy answered, knowing Darrell knew all the words.

"Pressure! Pushing down on me  
Pressing down on you, no man ask for  
Under pressure," Darrell began, dancing-but not in an embarrassing way. It didn't look that bad, even with the jumping up and down.

"That brings a building down  
Splits a family in two  
Puts people on streets" She sang loudly, prancing around. It was hard keeping her in view of the camera, but then again, she really didn't have that much room to move around, what with the fact there was a blanket fort and all.  
"Um ba ba be  
Um ba ba be  
De day oh  
Ee day oh" She sang, spinning in a circle, and jumping as high as she could, before landing, flashing a smile at the camera and contining;  
"That's okay  
It's the terror of knowing what this world is about  
Watching some good friends screaming"

She pointed at Amanda, who laughed, and joined in for the one line,

"Let me out!"  
Darrell sang on, alone,  
"Pray tomorrow gets me higher  
Pressure on people, people on streets  
Day day de mm hm  
Da da da ba ba" She took a breath,

"Okay.  
Chippin' around - kick my brains around the floor  
These are the days it never rains but it pours  
Ee do ba be  
Ee da ba ba ba  
Um bo bo  
Be lap

People on streets - ee da de da de" She smiled, and repeated the line.  
"People on streets - ee da de da de da de da"  
Back to the chorus;  
"It's the terror of knowing  
What this world is about  
Watching some good friends screaming"

Both of them chorused, "Let me out!"  
"Pray tomorrow gets me higher and higher  
Pressure on people, people on streets" Darrell sang quietly.  
"Turned away from it all like a blind man  
Sat on a fence but it don't work  
Keep coming up with love but it's all slashed and torn  
Why - why - why?  
Love love love love" She sang, twirling again in the air.

"Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking  
Can't we give ourselves one more chance  
Why can't we give love that one more chance?" She asked, spreading her arms wide as she jumped up as if asking a question.

"Why can't we give love, give love, give love, give love  
Give love, give love, give love, give love, give love" She sang out, picking up a random hairbrush for good measure and singing into it,

"'Cause love's such an old-fashioned word  
And love dares you to care for  
The people on the edge of the night  
And loves dares you to change our way  
Of caring about ourselves  
This is our last chance  
This is our last dance" She sang, dancing wildly as if emphasize the last line.

"This is ourselves  
Under pressure  
Under pressure  
Pressure"

She stopped, did a ninja roll despite the limited floor space, and stared into the camera.

Amanda stopped filming, smiling.

"That was good. I should have guessed you'd make it not look stupid. I'm not entirely sure that doesn't count as cheating, but fine."

She laughed, and they headed back into the blanket fort, Amanda glancing at the watch.

"I can't believe it!" She exclaimed. "After all that, we still have Nine minutes. Are you sure this watch isn't broken?"

Darrell glared at the watch, obviously also hungry.

"Your turn again, Mandy. Truth or Dare?" Darrell asked.

"You know, Darrell, you have an awful lot of nicknames for me-Am, Mand, Mandy, Amand, Mad..."

"Just answer the question." Then she added, "Plus, you forgot Amandalia."

'Amandalia' sighed. "Truth. Again."

Darrell mock-pouted. "Seriously? Again?" Amanda nodded.

"Fine. Which fictional character would you want to meet, more than anyone else, and would you actually still want to meet them if you were trapped just in their world with no one else from this world, other than say, two friends?"

Amanda looked at her. "I'm sure I don't actually need to tell you the answer."

"But you do!" Darrell whined. "I can't figure it out! Seriously, Ammie-that's another nickname you forgot-I need you to tell me. Plus, you have to-it's the rules of Truth and Dare."

"You can't work it out? Darrell, how long have you known me?" She asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Just TELL ME!" Darrell half-yelled.

"Fine, fine," Amanda said, holding her hands up in surrender. "Gosh. It's Erik." She said.

Darrell looked at her, to continue.

"Erik, The Phantom, and as long as one of those friends wasn't as annoying as you, I'd be fine with it!" She said, glaring at Darrell, who put on a mock hurt expression.

"Aw, Ammie, that's really quite mean of you."

"Oh, really?" Amanda said, "The rules say you have to be truthful." Then she sighed.

"Ok, fine. I lied. One of the friends would have to be you: having to deal with your sanity helps keep me sane." She admitted, laughing.

Darrell smiled in triumph.

Then her eyes widened, and she burst out laughing.

"Amanda..."

"Yes..."

"You know you asked if my clock was slow?" She said nervously.

"Yes?" Amanda questioned.

"It actually is. I'd forgotten."

"HOW SLOW?" Amanda asked. "How slow?"

"Um...we have about a minute left. And, um, I've got an idea! You know those wish biscuits you said you'd cooked?"

"Yes." She said, annoyed.

"Well, I was thinking: to make things more fun, lets get them out, eat them at exactly midnight, and make a wish!"

She looked eagerly at Amanda, who just stared at her emotionless.

Darrell's smile turned into a frown. "Ammie!"

"Fine! Fine. You get them out, though."

After finding them quickly, and taking one each, they watched the second hand of Amanda's clock, which she'd taken out, waiting for it to strike midnight.

"5...4...3...2...1!" Amanda counted. "Eat!"

She took a big bit of her 'wish biscuit', closed her eyes, and wished.

Darrell did the same. Unknowing, both wished the same thing.

_I wish we could both be stuck together in the world of Phantom, and meet Erik._

Both of them felt a sudden jolt and opened their eyes.

The blanket fort slipped to one side-on one side-and both girls fell against the side, screaming as the blanket fort rolled over.

"What's going on?" Darrell yelled.

"I don't know!" Amanda replied, "But I don't think blanket forts normally do this!"

Suddenly, it felt as if the blanket fort was flying upwards at top speed, and both girls looked at each other, confused and scared.

As it rose higher, they wondered still what was going on.

Then it stopped.

"Am?" Darrell ventured. "Do you think it's-"

The blanket fort fell downwards, cutting off Darrell's sentence, and both girls screamed as they plummeted to their doom!

_**A/N: Okay, probably a rubbish first chapter. Hopefully, it will get better! **__** Yes, I know, this has been down before, yada-yada, whatever. Some people like reading them. I certainly like writing it, and strangely enough, I want some advice on my writing. If no one reads this, well, darn. **_

_**So, I hope you enjoyed it! Please review? It would make me very pleased, indeed. **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Phantom. The characters, my imagination owns. Seriously. **_

_**Thanks!**_

_**Adyna. **_

_**OH! By the way: Just a warning, but I have no idea when I'll have time to write the next chapter. I'm working on a really hard project for school at the moment, and although school only just started again, I have tons of homework! But I'll do my best, I promise. :)  
**_


	2. Heads, Hurts, Anger and Lasso's

_"Am?" Darrell ventured. "Do you think it's-"_

_The blanket fort fell downwards, cutting off Darrell's sentence, and both girls screamed as they plummeted to their doom!_

Darrell woke up, wincing as she moved her head and instead, deciding to just stay still for the moment. Glancing around as much as she could without moving her head, she identified her location as still being inside the blanket Fort.

What had happened? The last thing she remembered was the blanket fort going crazy and flying around, and then falling...

She guessed that was when she'd gone unconscious. Then she realised.

Amanda! Where was Amanda? She had to sit up, she knew, despite her head. What had happened to Amanda?

She struggled to sit up.

"So you're finally awake." She heard a voice say, but something was wrong with the sound of the familiar voice she knew well. The sound of the voice stopped her movement.

"Amanda? You're ok?" She asked.

A pause before answering. "Yes. In a way."

"What do you mean?"

But this time it wasn't Amanda who answered.

"What she means, girl, is that you two are trespassing in my home." An angry voice came.

"W...what?" Darrell asked shocked. "What's going on?"

Though Darrell couldn't see, Amanda closed her eyes, wishing she didn't have a rope around her neck. This was a lot worse than she'd ever imagined.

"We're not in your room anymore." Amanda said, trying to stop tears from spilling from her eyes. The man holding the rope didn't seem to notice. He was too busy glaring at them both.

"I gathered...but what's happened? Who else is here?" She asked, sounding scared. "Please tell me, I can't move my head right now." She said.

"A ghost." The angry voice growled. "A ghost who's home you've invaded."

Darrell was very, very confused. "We didn't mean to!" She blurted. "We don't know who you are or where we are!"

Amanda was shaking slightly, imagining what would happen if the man's hand slipped slightly, pulling the rope...she was terrified. What if he accidentally killed her? What if he purposely killed her? And then Darren?

""How did you get here?" The man demanded, pulling the rope slightly tighter. Amanda gave a small gasp.

"Amanda? Are you alright?" Darrell asked, worried, having heard the gasp.

"ANSWER THE QUESTION! HOW DID YOU GET HERE?" The man shouted.

"We don't know!" Amanda cried, tears slipping down her cheeks as she found herself unable to restrain them. The man seemed startled by this sudden show of emotion, and stopped silent for a moment, looking almost...remorseful. As if he regretted what he had done and was still doing.

He looked at Amanda, and reached towards her. She immediately shrank back, away from his outstretched hand, terrified as she continued crying, tears streaming down her face.

He didn't stop, instead grabbing hold of the rope and pulling it off over her head, seeming ashamed.

There was a silence for a moment, broken only by Amanda's sobs. Darrell was too frightened to move from her spot on the floor even if she could. She had no idea what was going on, she didn't even know what had caused Amanda to cry.

The man eventually spoke again.

"How did you get here?" He asked, quieter now.

Darrell answered. "We don't know! Amanda already told you that! We don't even know where we are, other than 'your home'!" She burst out angrily.

He seemed startled at her sudden burst of fury and frustration.

"Well, you'll have to leave." He said, matching her frustration fury with the amount he poured into his own voice as he spoke.

"We...we don't know how!" Amanda cried. "We don't even know how we got here, how can we leave?" She sobbed.

"I am sorry." He said, finally after another silence. "I did not mean to hurt you."

She gave a shaky laugh, still sounding scared. Darrell froze.

"Amanda? What did he do?" She half shouted.

"It's...It..It's f-fine, Relly, don't w-worry." She forced out.

"Doesn't sound fine! If you've done anything to hurt her, I'll-"

"You'll what?" He asked coldly, annoyed at this child. "I am sure you could do nothing to harm me." He sneered.

A wild thought crossed Darrell's mind that he sounded like Alan Rickman in the role of Severus Snape, but she pushed it out of her head. Like Harry Potter was important right now. They were stuck in the home of some lunatic who was doing something to hurt her friend, and she had no idea what! She couldn't move her head, because it hurt too much, and overall, this was Awful!

She didn't realise she'd spoken aloud until she finished.

"D-Darrell, Wh-why are you t-talking about H-harry P-potter?" Amanda asked, sounding like, Darrell was forced to notice, Professor Quirrell.

"Just a random thought." She said, feeling annoyed with herself. Couldn't she even control whether she spoke aloud or in her head? How useless was she?

Couldn't she do anything right?

"Look, Sir, whoever you are, please exaplin what's going on. We've no idea where we are-If we're in your house, well, we're sorry. It was exactly intentional. I'm sure that had we known what what happen, and been givena choice, we would have remained at home!" She said angrily.

Amanda watched as the man blinked in surprise. She wished she could tell Darrell who the man was, but then, how could she, without revealing to him that she knew? She did not want to cause his horrible angre to rise up again. What if he used that rope again? She shuddered at the thought of it around Darrell's neck, as she lay unsuspecting on the floor, unable to move her head.

"I apologise for my most rude behaviour." The man answered, sounding rather bitter about it. "I do not think it so unreasonable that a man would be angry at some strangers forcing entry to his home."

She closed her eyes, speaking through gritted teeth. "Do you not listen? Look, I have a bad temper, and even my temper is nowhere near as bad as yours. I don't know whast you did to Amanda, but you made her cry, ok, and that is not alright with me. We have already told you that we did not mean to come here! LISTEN, already!" She said, furious at the way he was acting and unable to restrain her anger. She most certainly had a terrible temper.

Amanda watched them, fearful, and worried that the man might again try to kill her or Darrell. She still had no idea how they'd arrived in this home.

"P-please, sir..." She whispered. "Please, we didn't mean to." She said, having managed to finally stop the tears from falling, yet now they threatened to flood down her cheeks again.

He looked at her tearstained face, and she saw what almost seemed like regret in his eyes. Could that be what was there? Could he be feeling remorse for trying to kill them?

There was silence between them as the man stared at the frightened face of Amanda, and she looked, terrified, back at him. Darrell was left wondering what on earth was going on, lying still on the floor.

"You say you can not get home?" He asked after a few agonizing minutes, perhaps, of the silence.

Amanda nodded slightly.

"It seems I have no choice, then." He muttered. Darrell felt a clenching in your stomach. "W-what do you mean?" She asked nervously. "No choice about what?" She wondered if he meant to kill them for invading his home, and now, for not being able to leave.

He gave a resigned, and rather annoyed and irritated, sigh. "You may stay here. While you recover." He said finally. Darrell was shocked, as was Amanda. He was inviting them to stay? After all that?

"I can not force two injured young ladies on to the street, with no home." He explained. Darrell's heart felt filled with fear for Amanda-how was Amanda injured? Was it serious? Was it the man's doing?

Amanda stared at him in surprise and amazement. After trying to kill her, he was offering them both a place to stay? She knew she had no choice-they couldn't very easily leave, not now. Not ever, possibly. She had no idea how they could even begin to get home.

Darrell didn't exactly seem happy with the idea of staying with an attempted murderer (not that she knew that) either.

"Wait, you think we want to stay with someone who clearly hates us?" She asked. "That's absurd!"

His voice was dark, and filled with irritation. "If you wish to leave, you may. But you will not be able to in that condition, nor will you be able to find yourselves a place to stay when you have no idea where you are. I do not like the idea of two young ladies trespassing in my home, however, there does not seem to be another option."

He looked over them-the strange clothing they wore was that a man would, which was why he had, originally, believed them to be male. But he could see now that were clearly female, and felt a slight guilt for harming a girl, especially one who was clearly no terrified of him. Sometimes, he thought it was no wonder people were terrified of him. But how could he change that?

He had never been accepted by the world; why should he accept the world in return? What had anyone done to earn his compassion? His only 'friend' was the Daroga, the Chief of Police from when they had met. The Daroga probably, like others, believed he was dead.

The girl he'd tried to kill, whom he believed was called Amanda, still looked as if she expected him to kill them at any moment. He resented the man he'd become; hated by the world, he hated everything in it. He hated everyone who was accepted, and everyone who wasn't. They could still live in a world where they weren't hidden from everyone just because of their appearance.

Abruptly, he left the room, unable to remain there with the two girls he'd just tried to kill.

There was silence between the two girls, as if neither of them could quite believe what had just happened to them. In a matter of moments, the situation had completely turned around, though whether for better or worse neither were sure.

Darrell spoke first. "Amanda, what did he do to you?"  
Amanda hesitated, not really wanting to answer. "I-it's fine. I'm fine, don't worry."

Darrell's voice hardened. "Amanda, what did he do to you?" She repeated, and this time Amanda had to answer and tell the truth.

"He...he used a lasso...the P-Punjab lasso, I think." She said.

Darrell froze. "He WHAT? HE TRIED TO KILL YOU?"

Amanda looked at her friend, shouting from where she lay on the floor.

"Well, Yes." She whispered, but Darrell heard her.

Then Darrell seemed to realise what had been said. "Wait-The PUNJAB lasso?" She asked in astonishment.

Amanda nodded, though Darrell couldn't see her, and stood up to shakily walk to Darrell's side.

"Well, yes, Darrell. I-I think we're in Erik's lair. He had the Mask...and the lasso...and the temper." She finished.

"We're...we're..." For the first time, Darrell was completely speechless. They'd somehow ended up in ERIK'S LAUR, of all places? And then, he'd tried to kill them.

"But...but we always thought he was...well, a good..that he was..."

"I know." Amanda said quietly. "We thought he was made out to seem worse than he was. But, I'm not so sure anymore. He did seem to regret it..." She added half-heartedly.

"Regret it? Am, he tried to strangle you! He probably almost succeeded! I wouldn't have even known as it happened, I couldn't see a thing that was going on. He's letting us stay here, but frankly, I'm not sure that's such a good thing, and if I could, Am, I'd leave NOW."

"But we can't leave, that's the problem!" Amanda burst out, upset. "If we could, I'd want to leave. I'm terrified of him-it wasn't you he tried to kill!" She closed her eyes, shaking, and tried to calm down.

Darrell looked guilty. Amanda was right-she had much more right to be angry and terrified than Darrell did. But not by much; Amanda was almost Darrell's sister, and she hated the fact that that man had been torturing her while Darrell was unable to do a thing about it. She hadn't even known what was happening. And she hated the feeling of being unable to move due to the pain in her head.

She felt so...useless. And she hadn't been able to help Amanda at all!

"What can we do, Am?" She asked quietly, feeling desperate.

Amanda shook her head. "I don't know. I really don't know."

_**A/N: Hi all! **____** I'm not very happy with that Chapter, but I think it's probably as good as it's going ot get at the moment. I can always try to improve it and replace it at a later point. **_

_**I'm really sorry for the delay in updating-I had so much homework, it was impossible. And then I decided to take part in NaNoWriMo, which is now over, thank goodness...though I am proud of writing my novel so far. It's not very good, darn it, but I guess that's what editing's for. **_

_**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! **_____

_**Adyna. **___


	3. Poison, Giggles and Books

"_What can we do, Am?" She asked quietly, feeling desperate. _

_Amanda shook her head. "I don't know. I really don't know."_

Neither of them had thought they'd have been able to get any sleep at all, but when they woke up the next morning the first thing they saw was a plate of food that had been left out for them.

Amanda shivered as she saw it. The Phantom had clearly come in to the room while they'd both been sleeping, and he could have killed them-but he just left some food. Clearly, he wasn't going to let them starve.

Darrell still seemed half sleep as she looked at the food and stretched, before rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"Am?" She asked sleepily. "Did you leave the food?"

Amanda closed her eyes as if in annoyance, but gave a slight smile. At least something was normal around her.

"Darrell, don't you remember what happened last night?" She asked.

Darrell frowned. "You came over to sleepover...then..." Her eyes widened. "OH MY GOSH! WE'RE IN-" Amanda quickly covered Darrell's mouth with her hand.

"Darrell! He doesn't know we know what he knows is wrong and that we know that he isn't someone who we don't know who he is!" She hissed.

Darrell looked confused for only a moment, then nodded, and Amanda took her hand away.

"We're in the Phantom's lair!" Darrell whispered excitedly. "We're actually in his lair! How cool is this?" She asked.

Amanda looked at her. "Darrell, is there part of last night you aren't remembering?" She asked pointedly.

Darrell frowned. "Don't think s-OH!" A look of fury took over her face. "HE tried to kill you!" She said angrily.

"Calm down! We're both alive. That's the best thing right now, I suppose."

Darrell looked at the food. "But what if it's poisoned? I don't wanna die of poison, Mandy!" She cried.

Her friend sighed. "Darrell, if you're that worried, I'll try it first. But I don't think he's the type to poison people he said could stay in his home because they had no where else to go, even if he did try to kill me." She said rationally.

Darrell still looked at the food worriedly.

Amanda took a pear that had been put on the plate, and bit into it. "There. Tastes-" Her eyes widened, and she lifted her hands to her throat, croaking at Darrell.

Darrell rolled her eyes. "Ok, so now you make fun of me. Nice." Amanda smiled as she took the hands away from where they had, moments ago, been clutching desperately at her throat.

"Trying to lighten the mood, Rell." She answered simply.

Darrell smiled slightly, and took some food. Soon, they were both tucking in to the food Erik had left them, and enjoying it heartily, though neither was quite in the mood to enjoy food at the time. They were trapped in an unknown place, where their favourite fictional character had tried to murder them. They were no longer in their own time. And they had no way of getting home.

Not exactly the ideal situation you wanted to get into when your friend comes to stay with you for two weeks. "Am?" Darrell ventured.

"Yeah?"

"I'm really sorry. I mean, this is all my fault, isn't it? I mean, maybe I caused it somehow? I don't know..."

Amanda looked at her. "Darrell, if you seriously think this is in any way your fault-you're deluded."

She sighed. "But if it's not my fault, how did it happen? How did it happen anyway? I mean, what could cause two 21st century girls to be sent back in time to visit their favourite fictional character, who then tries to kill them?"

Amanda looked just as clueless as Darrell, but answered anyway. "I don't know. I mean, we didn't do anything, I don't think. Maybe it was just...luck?"

Darrell snorted.

"Hey!" Amanda responded. "I don't see you coming up with anything better!"

"Luck, Mand? Seriously?" She asked, smirking slightly.

Amanda rolled her eyes. "Like I said, if you have any better ideas..." But she couldn't stop herself from smiling. At least they were both acting more relaxed...more like themselves. Even if they were trapped in a small room with no escape. Even if they had been transported to the past, where a masked genius waited to kill them. Even if...

"Mand?" Darrell asked. "What's wrong?" She paused. "Aside from the obvious, of course." She allowed.

Amanda smiled slightly. "Nothing, Rel. Nothing, just...you know." She finished, waving her hand vaguely. Darrell looked sceptical.

"Mandy, what's wrong?"

Amanda closed her eyes. "Nothing, Rel, honestly. Nothing." _Absolutely nothing._

"I don't believe you, Amanda." Darrell said using her best 'Tell me now' voice.

"Please, Rel, just leave it." Amanda asked quietly, and Darrell looked at her, biting her lip.

Yet she relented. "Fine. For now." She added, just to clarify. Amanda gave a wan smile.

They sat in silence, each of them sitting reading. They were both great book lovers; perhaps Amanda more than Darrell, or perhaps Darrell more than Amanda. Either way, they both enjoyed spending time reading...normally.

"Urgh!" The sound came from Darrell, an exasperated sound. Amanda looked up, startled.

"Darrell?" She asked.

Darrell instantly apologised. "Sorry, Mandy, it's just so...argh!" She said, frustrated.

Amanda's lip twitched. "...Argh?" She questioned.

Darrell smiled, before lapsing into a frown. "I just can't concentrate! How am I meant to concentrate on my book when we're trapped in the past? And not just the past-we're in the Phantom's lair, Mandy! I just can't focus on reading right now..."

Amanda nodded. "I understand. I mean, that makes sense. Not that I was having any trouble reading myself, of course..."

Darrell's eyes narrowed. "Mandy..." She whined.

Amanda laughed. "Fine, fine! I was having trouble concentrating. It's just...hard to. With everything that's happened. I love reading, but that doesn't mean I can concentrate on it right now. Especially not this book." She said, waving the one she was reading in the air. It was _The Phantom of the Opera. _

"Yeah, that would be very hard to read at this point." Darrell agreed. "It's lucky we have books with us, though, or we wouldn't have much to do. I mean, we'll probably be trapped in here for a while." She said, before noticing the frightened look on Amanda's face and adding, "But I'm sure we'll get out soon! And we won't necessarily just have to stay in this room-"

"Please, Rel, you're just making it worse!" Amanda groaned.

"Sorry." Darrell said sheepishly. "Guess I'm not very good at it."

"You think?"

"Yes, I think. Honestly!" She replied, sounding offended.

A giggle came from the other girl. She stopped it, but it soon burst out again, and soon they were both laughing together, not simply at the comment, but at everything that had happened. Somehow, it seemed better to laugh. Better to laugh than to fear. Better to laugh than to hate. Better to laugh than to hurt. Better to laugh than to anger. Better to laugh than to cry.

Unknown to them, outside the door to the small room they stayed inside, a man stood, listening to their conversation. A white mask hid the majority of his face, and he seemed hesitant to do anything. He didn't seem to want to leave or go any further. As their laughter rebounded through the door, he started, and then shook himself. Straightening up, he forced himself to move, and glided slowly away from the closed door.

_**A/N: Ok, I'm really sorry for such a late update. I know, it's been ages. Sorry! I'm also sorry if it's not very good and if there are spelling/ grammar mistakes. I've tried to check it, but...yeah. I'm looking for a Beta Reader, but can't find one, unfortunately. If you know of anyone...be sure to let me know, ok? **_

_**Thanks for reading! **_

_**Adyna  
**_


	4. Claustrophobia, Libraries and suspicions

_As their laughter rebounded through the door, he started, and then shook himself. Straightening up, he forced himself to move, and glided slowly away from the closed door. _

They'd been trapped in that small room for days now, and Amanda was going crazy.

"ARGH!" She exclaimed for the 12th time in the last 10 minutes.

"Amanda, come on!" Darrell said, exasperated. "Shut up!"

Amanda turned and glared at her. "Darrell, I don't like small spaces, and this is one small room, for days, I NEED TO GET OUT!"

"Give up, Amanda!"

Amanda's eyes looked wild.

"If I don't get out of here soon, I'll go crazy!"

"_Go _crazy?" Darrell muttered, making care to dodge Amanda's glare as she heard the comment.

Suddenly, Amanda whirled around, now staring hopelessly towards the door, as if willing it to open.

They both stood in silence for a moment, staring at the door, Darrell looking wary of what Amanda might do.

Then Amanda rushed forwards, hitting the door hard with her fists. "LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT!" She screamed. Darrell grabbed her wrist and pulled her backwards. "Amanda, stop!" She hissed. "Do you want to give him an excuse to kill us?" She asked. Amanda looked at her, unfocused, then collapsed slightly on to the bed, feeling useless.

Darrell, watching her, felt the same way. Unable to help her friend.

She turned again to face the door.

"LET US OUT LET US OUT!" She cried, whacking on the door almost as hard as Amanda had. "LET US OUT!" She screeched.

All of a sudden, she fell forward, the door moving out of her way. She screamed slightly as the floor rose up to meet her, but a hand grasped the back of her outfit and pulled her back up.

Amanda, now sitting on the bed, looked terrified at the turn of events.

Darrell looked up, breathless.

Him.

Erik.

_Why am I surprised? _She asked herself, confused. After all, they were the only three people in the lair. As far as she knew, anyway.

It wasn't easy to tell what his expression was under the mask, but after a moment, Darrell had the strange impression he was smirking. As if he found something slightly amusing.

"What?" She growled at him, which was, perhaps, not the wisest thing to do.

He looked down at her. "Is that anyway to treat your host?" He asked, raising one eyebrow.

Darrell blinked. Was she imagining things, or had this version of Erik, who'd tried to kill Amanda, just made a joke?

Amanda looked too terrified to react, staring at Erik with a mixed expression of fear and something else. Darrell couldn't restrain the Phantom Phan's twinge of annoyance at that-after all, it wasn't nice to look at Erik with fear-but she shook that feeling away. Amanda was a bigger Phan than she was, and Erik had tried to kill Amanda. It wasn't something that easy to forgive.

"If you wished to visit another room, all you had to do was ask." He said calmly.

Darrell felt a sudden burst of worry and nausea. Was he going to take them to another room? Specifically, the Torture Chamber? If they'd annoyed him with their noise...what if they'd interrupted his composing? He was a musical genius, and a genius wouldn't take kindly to being disturbed...

He gestured for them to come forward. Neither moved.

"You make all that noise trying to escape this room, yet now neither of you wishes to leave?" He asked them sceptically. Neither responded.

"Very well, then." He made to shut the door.

"No!" The cry burst from Amanda's chest, clearly unable to find herself locked in the small room again. As soon as she spoke, she seemed to regret it.

Darrell looked at her, and reached out a hand. Seeming to tremble slightly, Amanda slowly moved to stand up and take it.

Erik waited almost patiently. Was he going to kill them, Darrell wondered, or was it just implied? Looking at Amanda's fearful face, she hoped it wasn't enough to push him over the edge.

When they both stood there, he nodded slightly, and turned to leave, holding the door out for them to step by. Darrell led the way, clutching Amanda's hand tightly. Darrell had always been the braver and more confident of the two. Amanda was much quieter, more shy and reserved.

He closed the door behind them in a way which seemed much too final for Amanda; she made a slight, barely audible sound, but nothing else.

He strode confidently away from the room, the two girls behind him hesitant and nervous. Even Darrell was scared. Who wouldn't be? This was a man who had, only days before, attempted to murder them simply due to an accident. This was a man who had killed before, perhaps heartlessly, Darrell now found herself musing, though she'd never thought so before. She'd never considered Erik being truly mad or evil-but what if he was? If so, they had fallen into the clutches of a man who would enjoy nothing more than to kill them, slowly and painfully, perhaps with the Punjab lasso, or maybe a sword.

She didn't even want to know.

But to their surprise, and intense relief, he led them into, not the mirrored torture chamber they would have recognised from the books, but into a room which looked like-

"A library," Darrell breathed, looking round at the huge shelves of books around them. "Wow."  
She stared almost in awe at the books around her. Even Amanda had lost her frightened look in the company of quite so many amazing volumes.

"If you enjoy reading, you may come here, if you remember the way. It is a simple journey from your room." He said, causing Amanda to start, as if she'd forgotten Erik was with them in the room of wonders.

A terrified look again appeared on her face as she looked towards him, yet as she gazed upon his masked face she seemed to try to pull herself together, to remove the scared expression from her features. Darrell noted that Erik had immediately tensed, just slightly, at her expression, but had relaxed as she fought her fear.

There was an awkward silence for a moment. Neither Darrell nor Amanda seemed brave enough to break it.

And yet eventually one of them did, and perhaps it was the more unlikely of the two.

"Thank you." Amanda's shy and quiet voice came softly.

Erik seemed slightly surprised, but hid it well, just not well enough to prevent Darrell's notice.

Another thing occurred to Darrell all of a sudden.

"Wait, how do you know we like reading?" She asked, suspicious. They hadn't exactly had a chance to _tell _him they loved to read. He couldn't know unless he'd been eavesdropping. With a slight shiver of realisation, she knew that he must of. What if he'd overheard them talking about the Phantom of the Opera?

He looked at her, not seeming to find any sort of problem with the question.

"I doubt any two ladies who did not enjoy reading would have that amount of books with them." He answered, sounding slightly colder than he had a minute ago. Maybe that was due to her suspicious sounding voice. She felt a bit guilty suddenly, but didn't say anything. After all, what could she say?

She just nodded. After all, that did make sense. They did clearly have a lot of books in their...well...rather messy room/ blanket fort. She felt a bit silly.

"Sorry." She apologised. "I didn't think of that." She looked sheepish, and Erik seemed puzzled at their actions. He said nothing, however, and turned to leave.

"I will leave you here to read and do what you wish. However..." Then he turned to them again, his eyes seeming to flash rather dangerously, "If you attempt to enter another room without my permission, I will not be pleased. Nor are you allowed to touch anything on that shelf." He said, pointing to a shelf at the back of the room filled with what seemed like musical manuscripts of a sort.

"Farewell." He said, and as they watched in amazement, he swept out of the room, shutting the door behind him and leaving them alone in the room.

Darrell and Amanda looked at each other for a moment, still rather confused by everything that was happening. Then, with a grin only bookworms can pull off, they turned towards the tall shelves, and began to discover the secrets of the books Erik had in his library.

_**A/N: Hi! Thanks for reading my story, and more specifically, the new chapter (as above). **_

_**Thanks to all those who reviewed to the last chapter. I'm still looking for a beta reader, so...any takers? **_

._**...Ahem. About the long time I took to update...I'm really sorry. I completely forgot about writing more, I've been really busy. And then I looked into my files when I decided to write more today, and, well...I'd already written a lot of this chapter. So...I'm really sorry. I should have finished it and updated earlier, but I'm an idiot. Can you wonderful readers please forgive me? I have virtual cookies...**_

_**Also, forgive me if I don't update for a while. I have homework (I know, in the summer holidays...) and I'm taking part in 'Camp Nanowrimo', so...might not be able to update for a while. Hopefully it won't take too long, though. **_

_**Thanks!**_

_**Adyna.  
**_


	5. Shakespeare, tears and introductions

_"Farewell." He said, and as they watched in amazement, he swept out of the room, shutting the door behind him and leaving them alone in the room._

_Darrell and Amanda looked at each other for a moment, still rather confused by everything that was happening. Then, with a grin only bookworms can pull off, they turned towards the tall shelves, and began to discover the secrets of the books Erik had in his library._

It was a few hours since Erik had left them in the library, and they were both relieved to see a change of scenery. Amanda knew they had both gone a little bit crazy stuck in that room, and winced at the memory of her whacking the door with all her might and screaming to be let out of the room. She felt like an idiot, and quite embarrassed. Erik didn't seem to mind, though, she thought rationally. He actually seemed nice in their last encounter, rather than mean and murderer-like. She hated the fact she kept acting scared of him. Even if he was scary. But she couldn't exactly help it, after all, he had tried to kill her. It wasn't something you forgot easily, though she was trying to. She knew all about Erik, after all. He didn't need more people fearing him.

Darrell, however, was no longer thinking at all about their dangerous situation, but instead about a man named Othello, who was about to murder his true love, Desdemona. Yes, that's right; she was now absorbed in a Shakespeare play. Her mind was focused completely on Othello, and she had no time to worry about the rather large predicament she and Amanda were in. After all, who would worry about that?

It was only when she heard Amanda make a frustrated noise that she closed the book, and turned to her friend.

"Mandy? What's wrong?" Amanda turned to her, and, guessing what she was going to say, Darrell added, "Apart from the obvious."

Amanda glared at her. "A lot. Dar, we acted like idiots! We're trapped here! We don't know him at all. And I'm embarrassed! Why do I always have to make a fool out of myself?" She asked in despair.

Darrell was instantly concerned. She knew Amanda well, and she knew that Amanda hated being embarrassed. She hated feeling like an idiot, like someone was laughing at her, like she'd done something foolish and unintelligent.

"Amanda, you didn't seem like an idiot. Anyway, I did it too. He didn't seem to mind that much, anyway." She tried to comfort.

This made it worse for Amanda. Somehow, the attempt at comfort made her feel even worse. It always had this affect on her.

With Darrell's small attempt at comfort, the tears of embarrassment slipped from Amanda's eyes. What made it worse was that the door chose that moment to open, revealing a startled looking man wearing a white mask , who seemed to have no idea what to do when faced with a crying girl.

Amanda went red, feeling even worse, as Erik simply stared at them both, Darrell's hand comfortingly on her shoulder.

"Are-are you alright?" He asked, seeming uncertain.

She swallowed and nodded, her face burning as she ducked her head down to hide behind her hair.

Darrell had no clue what to do. Whilst a part of her felt like yelling at Erik for making Amanda feel worse, she knew it would be stupid to do so, and that he would most definitely not understand.

"Well-uh…" Erik seemed at a complete loss for words, as if he'd never been in a situation like this before.

He probably hadn't, Darrell mused, as she rubbed her best friend's shoulder.

"Could you just leave us alone, for, like, a moment, please?" Darrell asked eventually, looking up at the still rather puzzled and slightly frightened looking Erik.

He nodded. "Very-very well. However, I came to inform you that there is dinner for you, if you care for it." He said. "I will wait outside. It is in the dining room."

Darrell felt her eyebrow's raise, and no doubt the man noticed, but he said nothing as she nodded, and he hurried out of the door, closing it softly behind him.

Darrell sighed, hugging her friend.

"It's okay, Mandy….you didn't look like an idiot. Come on." She tried to wipe the tears from Amanda's face, knowing what the reaction would be. Amanda pulled away uncomfortably, and wiped her own eyes, before sighing.

"How come you manage to get me to do that every time?" She asked, still sounding rather upset and looking pale, but seeming less likely to continue crying.

Darrell grinned. "Because I am the almighty cheering up friend-person! I make everything better! Woo!"

A slight laugh came out of Amanda's lips. Darrell smiled at her friend.

"He won't mind, you know. He was startled, but not annoyed, I don't think."

Amanda nodded, though Darrell wasn't sure she believed her.

Amanda took a deep breath, and, after rubbing her eyes another time, stood up, pulling Darrell with her.

"I'm sorry, Rel. I didn't mean to…to just collapse like that. I'm sorry. I'm an idiot."

"No, you're not." Darrell said. "You're not an idiot, Ammy. Now smile. You're one of the best people I know. You're intelligent, funny, and a great friend. Now stop frowning. I need to see you smile, Mandariny." It was the bizarre new nickname which forced a smile to Amanda's face, small though it was, and Darrell looked satisfied.

"Now, let's go eat. Weird that he's inviting us to the dining area." She said.

Amanda nodded. " I didn't expect it, that's for sure. I mean, I was pretty sure he didn't like us much. He did try to kill me."

Darrell glared at the door. "Don't remind me."

"It's okay, I'm fine now, Rel. Anyway, not like there's anything you can do. He'd destroy us both if we tried to fight him, I'm sure. We'd have no chance of winning."

"I know. But still…Fine." She said, huffily.

Amanda laughed again, and Darrell grinned delightedly. "Success! I made you laugh! Another point for the Rel-team!"

"Honestly, Darrell, you amaze me sometimes."

"GOOD!" She said as Amanda pushed open the door to face Erik.

Amanda swallowed, her hair falling in front of her face again, a subconscious manoeuvre Darrell had come to know well.

"I-I'm sorry, uh, sir." She said quietly.

Darrell rolled her eyes, and began to speak at the same time as Erik did.

"Honestly, Mandy-"

"There is no need to-"  
Both stopped, gesturing for the other to speak first. Erik shook his head, inclining it towards Darrell.

"Uh, I was going to say, Honestly, Mandy, you don't need to apologise for showing emotion. Heck, I do it all the time!" She said breezily, and Amanda shot her a grateful smile.

Erik then spoke. "I was intending to tell you that there is no need to apologise. You have done nothing wrong. I, however, do have things to apologise for-for example, for frightening you, and for attempting to bring about your demise."

The two girls looked at each other startled. Darrell smiled at him.

"Well, thanks, Mr-?" She asked, realising just in time that she wasn't meant to know his name yet.

"My name is Erik." He said, seeming slightly surprised. "I apologise for not introducing myself properly earlier. What would your names be?" He asked respectfully, though, having heard them talk to each other, he had some guesses. He wasn't entirely sure, though-they seemed to call each other by several different strange sounding names.

"I'm Darrell, Darrell Moriarty. This is Amanda Watson." Darrell answered, as Amanda glanced up, meeting Darrell's eyes with a grateful expression.

"It is a pleasure to speak with you." He replied cordially.

Darrell cocked an eyebrow. "Same to you, kind sir."

Amanda rolled her eyes, thinking Darrell was going a bit over the top.

"Indeed." Erik replied, seeming slightly puzzled.

"Very well. I believe the meal will be growing cold. Follow me."

The two girls looked at each other and nodded, beginning to follow the tall masked man down the corridors of his strange, and mysterious, house.

_**A/N: Okay, I am so, so, very sorry for taking SOOO long to update. Yup, same old story….homework….revision…..stuff like that…..gargh. I hate schoolwork sometimes. Scratch that, a lot of the time. **_

_**I'm still looking for a beta reader, if anyone's interested? If not, I'll just continue publishing these unchecked….but I'd like a beta reader. (: **_

_**So, ta for reading and all that! (: Just kidding, thanks a lot for reading, it means a lot. If you leave a review, it will mean even more. Feedback would be awesome. You guys rock. THANKS!**_


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